It was Scully's birthday. No big deal, right? She never really celebrated her birthday anyway. Working with Mulder, she rarely had the time, and nobody to really share it with.
But now she has Mulder, kind of. Things are changing between them. There is no denying it. He's been coming to her house lately, without a case file.
Usually, he brings a bottle of red wine or a pizza. Other times, she would bring beer and Chinese to his place.
They'd been working together for nearly seven years. He's only remembered her birthday once. Most likely it was because she was dying of cancer.
She was curious if he would surprise her today. But she told herself not to have any expectations. She loves Mulder, but he's self absorbed. For the most part, at least.
Meanwhile, Mulder made sure to make it to the office earlier than Scully. It was a Friday. He knew her birthday was today. But, he was going to act like he forgot. He had the whole thing planned.
Recently, they have been walking to the little cafe around the block from the Hoover building. It was a hole in the wall. It had burgers for him and decent salads for her. Compromise. He'd been doing that a lot for her lately. Actually, he has been thinking more and more about her than himself lately.
The other day, he stopped and picked up her dry cleaning. The day before, he went to a coffee shop for her and grabbed a latte with a chocolate croissant, because he knew her period was this week.
There was a clothing store that they walked by every time. A mannequin was wearing a leather jack. And every time Scully saw it, she would black out or forget her words. Sometimes he'd be talking and she'd ask him to repeat himself, because she zoned out.
He knew she was in love with it, but couldn't justify the purchase. After all, she already had a million jackets and blazers at home. He knows. He's seen her closet. She has options.
But, she doesn't have a leather jacket. And when he saw it, he knew she had to have it. It was made for Scully.
So, after work, he went to the store and bought it. The lady even wrapped it up for him. It was 150.00 dollars, but he knew Scully deserved it. He couldn't wait to see her face light up.
When she walked into the office, she was rather chipper. He felt guilty that he was going to ruin that. For a moment, Mulder thought about just giving her the gift and not playing with her.
"Good morning, Mulder," she said in a sing song voice. He smiled. He loves a cheerful Scully.
"Hey, Scully. Good morning. I got you some coffee," he gestured to the red mug on the desk.
"Thank you. What is on the agenda today, Mulder."
"Well," he went in for the kill. "We have a ton of paper work to do. Skinner has been breathing down my neck. We might be here late tonight."
Her face dropped. He felt like an ass and almost told her he was kidding.
"Oh, okay. That's fine, Mulder. We better just get it done." The butterflies in her stomach all died. She told herself she wasn't going to cry.
"You didn't have any plans tonight, Scully. Did you?"
"I guess not," she rolled her eyes and gave some attitude.
It was then that he realized she had expected him to remember her birthday this year. How very feminine and un-Scully like. He was intrigued.
He felt some remorse. After all, she remembers his birthday every year. She even gets him a gift. Last year she got him a new lock pick set. It was thoughtful, since he lost his somewhere he couldn't recall. She was always thoughtful.
He briefly wondered if she would forgive him for his little game.
Some time went by, and paperwork was getting finished. She was knocking it out faster than he'd ever seen. Scorned Scully is a scary Scully. He was afraid.
"Hey, Scully. I'm gonna go grab us some food. You've been working hard," he chuckled. She ignored him and huffed.
"Whatever you want, Mulder," she sounded defeated. He couldn't wait to give her the gift. He had to run to the car first.
Fifteen minutes later, he came back with a large bag of Chinese food and the jacket, wrapped in a beautiful pink wrapping paper, even though she hated pink. She was on the phone. She didn't even look up when he walked back in.
"Thanks, Mom. I'll see you tonight. Love you too."
"Scully, I haven't been honest today."
And that got her attention. Her head snapped up.
"What the hell does that mean, Mulder?"
"It means, I know it's your birthday. I've been kind of playing with you today. And I'm really sorry." He confessed, with a frightened expression.
"You mean to tell me that you've been letting me fume over here. Mulder, dammit. I've been upset for hours." She was pissed. She even slapped her hand on the desk to make sure her point was made.
He had the decency to look guilty. But he still had the grand finale.
"Yes. I did. I'm an ass. But, I got you something that should make up for it. I hope."
He handed her the rectangular, pink box. She cautiously took it. Mulders gift giving skills were in decline. She couldn't imagine what it was.
"Just trust me, Scully."
And she did. So she tore open the box and pulled off the top. She saw the leather jacket and her eyes grew wet.
"Happy birthday, Scully."
"Mulder," she was speechless. "Mulder, how. When... Why..."
He chuckled. If he had a diary, he'd make a note of the day he made Agent Scully stutter.
"Come on, Scully. I've seen the way you look at it every time we walk by."
She shook her head. This was the most thoughtful gift he's ever given her. He was a constant surprise.
"Go ahead. Try it on. I want to make sure it fits. You're an extra large, right," he smiled. She gave his arm a soft swat.
He helped her into it. And once she had it zipped up, he was breathless. She looked absolutely stunning.
"See, Scully. I knew it. It was made for you."
She didn't say anything. She just wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. He heard her sniffle and take a deep breath.
"Let's finish our work so we can get out of here," he whispered into her hair. "We have dinner reservations at 6:30. "
She pulled her head back quickly. Who was this guy. This wasn't Mulder. Or was it? Was this Romantic Mulder? What was he up to?
"Mulder, the jacket is enough. It's more than enough."
"Do you not want to have dinner with me, Scully?"
"I didn't say that, Mulder."
"It'll give you a reason to wear that new jacket."
"Mulder, I'm probably going to be wearing this around the house." She said and then blushed. It sounded like she meant she wasn't going to wear anything underneath.
He chuckled. He got an imagine of Scully in the jacket and a little black number. A man could dream.
She grabbed his hand, wrapping her smaller one around his. It got his attention.
"Thank you again, Mulder. It's the best gift ever," she admitted, standing on her tip toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Nobody deserves it more than you, Scully."